Staples on our grocery list include, eggs, cream, goat cheese (I am totally obsessed!), butter, ground beef, bacon or pork sirloin, spinach, carrots, etc. We simply go to Costco and buy those said products. Then to my chagrin, the kids come home from school open the fridge & act like those food items just magically appeared there all on their own. Thus, what better way to teach kiddos to appreciate all the hands, hard work, effort, and energy that go into raising, growing, and preparing their food then visiting the Fulton County Fair! (The rides, games, food, entertainment, etc. would all just be bonuses on our educational fieldtrip ;)).
The day of our “fieldtrip” to the Fulton County Fair started of wet. We awoke to rain. Kiddos had assumed we wouldn’t go. Do farmers call off work on account of rain? Nope! They still need to tend the farm, feed animals, clean stalls, etc. So I told the kiddos to grab their hats. The older ones understood the concept of the baseball cap but the youngest came downstairs wearing this hat, lol!
After we all had rain friendly hats we were off come rain or shine, to the Fulton County Fair!!!
First stop when we arrived, restrooms, second, a huge dose of reality!! We stopped in all the barns, steer, swine, baby animals (took everything in me not to take one of those adorable puppies!!), sheep, goat, etc.
The children not only got to soak in all the cutest of the animals but also the gravity of the responsibility. There were a lot of children their ages competing and washing, brushing, and caring for the various animals. We talked about the fact that when they are often chilling on Saturday mornings playing on their screens these children are getting up early to tend to the animals….they aren’t building pretend farms on Minecraft they are helping to maintain REAL farms!
They are feeding the animals, cleaning the animals, removing their waste, and eventually they often have to say goodbye to the animals when they are sent away to become food for us. (I try my best to be as honest as possible with my kiddos…age appropriate in my descriptions, but honest none the less). And just when I thought the reality was sinking in and my city folk kids were beginning to understand were our foods come from and all the amazing families/people who make it possible my son made the following comment “Look mom, this is a REAL pig!”
Because all the other ones weren’t real? Lol! Apparently in his mind and mostly because all the books we have read show “real” pigs as being pink. Thanks to a visit to the Fulton County Fair we have debunk that myth! Haha!
Well, it is a work in progress. But I can tell you this much, there was no food waste at breakfast this morning, everyone’s eggs & bacon were eaten. And there was no arguing over whom had to clean up the dog poop (funny how dog poop doesn’t seem like an imposition when compared to cow & horse poop!) Perhaps more sunk in than I had thought?
After seeing all those animals we were hungry (I realize the timing of that comment sounds gruesome but it was like 1:30 in the afternoon and we hadn’t had lunch yet). So we ate! Best part about the Fair, everyone can eat what they want! Cheeseburger, BBQ chicken, etc.
Then we played! Kiddos played games and rode rides.
Then we were on the hunt for the BEST milkshakes! This is when it would have been nice if we printed off the map. Stopped for a photo op in front of the Tractors…so many tractors…I had no idea there we so many different sizes, colors, years, types, etc.
We did eventually locate the milkshakes…turns out we walked past it like 4 times! LOL! And then after our major accomplishment of locating and purchasing the shakes I had to take a pic to commemorate…..they were not amused! Haha!
And then they rode a few more rides and played a few more games. We all had an absolute BLAST!! We highly recommend y’all visit the Fair!! Fulton County Fair Sept 4-10th Click here for more info
Here are a few tips to make your Fair visit much more enjoyable:
1-Print off the Map-once you are physically in the Fair it is overwhelming and you could miss out on something and/or find it difficult to locate something, thus have a map!
2-Budget beforehand….how much will you be spending at the Fair and where will that money be allocated.
3-Talk to your kiddos ahead of time about how many rides/games they can enjoy (kiddos could even potentially be earning said rides & games weeks before the Fair via extra work around the house or selling old toys/clothes to second hand stores…any excuse to de-clutter!!).
4-Have a meeting place in case anyone gets lost!!
5- Do checkout the itinerary and jot down some times to keep in mind and then most importantly, Have fun!
After learning of the Island of Misfit Toys I remember vowing to always take good care of my toys, and for the most part, I did. As an adult I really appreciate ALL the valuable lessons hidden in that critically acclaimed show….true friendship, how our unique traits should be treasured, the importance of diversity, not bullying, responsibility, etc. Come to think of it, there are some lessons in the show that even we grown-ups might need to go back and review. And review we can!
